MAY 6, 2011

Webber: 2012 decision will be later

From vibes being given off in Turkey it seems as if Mark Webber's continued tenure of a Red Bull seat alongside Sebastian Vettel will depend on both his 2011 results and his own motivation to continue as he approaches 35 and completes his 10th season in F1.

Whereas Vettel recently signing a long-term extension with Red Bull, dependent on the presence of the senior technical staff, Adrian Newey principal among them, Webber's position, with year-by-year contracts, has always appeared more tenuous.

Last year, Webber's 2011 position was clarified at the same time as he achieved back-to-back race wins in Barcelona and Monte Carlo just seven days apart in May. This year, he admitted, "it is likely to be a later," although he confirmed that he is comfortable about both his position and his future.

Speaking on the subject, team principal Christian Horner added: "Mark has had a difficult start to the year until his China race, where he was phenomenal. He's had bad luck but is still delivering at a high level and the combination of our two drivers is very positive -- they push each other hard.

"With Mark, who's 35 later this year, it was inevitable that we'd start to take things a year at a time. We are only three races in and it's way to early to be focusing on 2012 at this time. We're happy with him, he's a popular member of the team, he enjoys driving for us and we enjoy having him there, and he's probably one of the most dedicated drivers out there. There will be a private discussion that we will have with him when the time is right."